Despite being the capital of Europe, Brussels has dropped eight places in the ranking of cities with the best quality of life for expats. Intense daily traffic jams have been named as the major drawback.
Belgium's capital is home to many international companies as well as European and global institutions. More than one in three inhabitants living in Brussels is not Belgian – making migrants a key part of the city's outset.
Despite its international character, however, the city has not been rated as being attractive to foreign workers.
Brussels was ranked 36th in the world for the best quality of life for expats by American consulting firm Mercer. Four years ago, the Belgian capital was in 28th place. It is still the only Belgian city included in the ranking.
"Expats will find a high standard of medical and hospital services there," Mercer noted in the report, as well as excellent availability and quality of consumer goods.
Traffic jams, however, are a major drawback, as is the lesser "internal stability" compared to the reference city New York, it stated. The capital performs even worse when it comes to the most environmentally friendly cities. Here, it ranks only 44th.
Brussels was included in another Mercer study published earlier this year, where it ranked as the 41st most expensive city to live in as an expat. However, this latest ranking did highlight the city has become slightly more affordable for expatriate workers relative to other metropoles.
Europe dominates top 10
For its ranking, Mercer assesses the practicalities of daily life for expatriate employees and their families in assignment locations worldwide.
The Austrian capital Vienna, on the other hand, remains very attractive for foreign workers: it once again topped the ranking. It owes its number one position, among other things, to its rich history, beautiful architecture and lively cultural scene, Mercer noted.
In second place in the ranking is Zurich, Switzerland, which scores high mainly because of its political stability, cleanliness and excellent infrastructure. In third place is Auckland in New Zealand, followed by Copenhagen (Denmark) in fourth and Geneva (Switzerland) in fifth place. Three German cities (Frankfurt, Munch and Dusseldorf) made it in the top 10.
Amsterdam, in neighbouring The Netherlands, ranked in 14th place, while the French capital of Paris, France was in 32nd place.
"The Mercer report shows that countries with high quality of life offer excellent healthcare, education, infrastructure and social services," said Yvonne Traber, Partner and Global Mobility Leader at Mercer.
"At a time of geopolitical turmoil, natural disasters and economic volatility, workers are rethinking their priorities and their quality of life. This has significant implications for cities in their competition for talent."
